A flag-bearing march wound through the Central Park area of Connaught Place on Friday, drawing a visible police presence along the route. Supporters and members of the Aam Aadmi Party convened a Tiranga Rally, expressing discontent toward the Election Commission over what they described as procedural violations within the institution.
Abhijeet Dipke of Citizens for Justice and Peace had issued an appeal for residents to gather at Central Park in Connaught Place on 16 October, with the national flag set to be raised there as part of the 'Lehra Do Tiranga' event. Authorities took approximately 150 people into custody amid gatherings that had drawn protesters to the heart of the capital, according to officials.
Dipke was among those detained, apprehended as he stepped out of NCP-SCP spokesperson Anish Gawande's home in the lead-up to the planned rally. An officer conveyed to Dipke that the detention was being carried out on preventive grounds.
Two separate legal notices were handed to Dipke by authorities at the time of his detention. The first, issued under Section 163 of the BNSS by the New Delhi district authority pursuant to the Delhi Police Act, placed a prohibition on his entry to Central Park, where rules governing public gatherings were in effect. The second was a bond violation notice from the South-West Delhi district administration, its contents tied to an earlier preventive measure that had named Dipke, Ashutosh, and Saurav. All three individuals had previously been taken into custody at the airport and brought before a court, facing accusations that they had breached a year-long commitment to keep the peace.
Restrictions under Section 163 were active across the Connaught Place area. Police informed Dipke that displaying the Tiranga was entirely within the law, though staging a march without the necessary permit — or gathering a crowd — would constitute a breach of the rules then in force. A call had circulated on social media urging people to gather at Connaught Place by 5 pm, with authorities noting that no formal authorisation had been sought for the planned assembly.
The notice issued to Dipke flagged that Connaught Place, a densely trafficked commercial district, has limited road access — a layout that authorities said posed questions around crowd management and the ability to evacuate people quickly if needed. The document also referenced Rajiv Chowk Metro Station — a junction where the Blue and Yellow lines converge — noting that approximately 200,000 passengers move through it on a typical day. Among the reasons officers put forward were potential disruptions to vehicle movement through central Delhi, the ability of ambulances and other emergency responders to reach hospitals, and the proximity of Connaught Place to Parliament, the Central Secretariat, and nearby diplomatic zones.
The document cited a history of rallies held by what it referred to as the Cockroach Janata Party, citing claimed breaches of permit conditions alongside reported episodes of violence and damage to publicly and privately owned property. Under orders issued through Section 163 of the BNSS, law enforcement authorities noted that those found in breach face potential action pursuant to Section 223 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023, along with any other relevant provisions.
Dipke contested the characterisation of his conduct as disruptive, maintaining that scrutiny of those in positions of authority sits at the foundation of democratic governance rather than constituting a breach of public order. In a post on X, Dipke pushed back on the notion that street demonstrations harm commerce, arguing that peaceful protest activity does not translate into losses for local businesses. He further argued that when authorities enforce a complete urban lockdown, sever internet access, restrict freedom of movement, and station large numbers of security personnel across an area, it is the local population that absorbs the impact.
The organisation referred to as the Cockroach Janta Party described adherence to Gandhi's principles of peace and non-violence as a founding commitment, one it said had been upheld throughout its existence. Dipke stated that demonstrations held across Mumbai, Pune, Jaipur, Lucknow, Bengaluru, and Nagpur had proceeded without incident. He also described an incident in Jaipur in which he was on the receiving end of physical harm, stating that he chose not to retaliate, grounding that decision in a personal commitment against meeting violence with further violence. He indicated a preference for pursuing constitutionally protected rights — those enshrined in the document shaped under BR Ambedkar's guidance — over any turn toward physical confrontation.
Members of AISA and Left party organisations gathered near Mandi House to call for the removal of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, and police took a number of those demonstrators into custody.
Voices from several opposition parties raised objections over the detention of CJP activist Abhijeet Dipke. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee posted on X to raise concerns about Delhi Police conduct, stating that Dipke had been taken into custody for carrying the Indian National Flag. Her remarks pointed to arrests of young people in post-independence India over non-violent forms of political activity, with her further contending that a governing authority showing little tolerance for dissent appeared to be steering an entire generation toward conformity. She described the three individuals — Abhijeet, Ashutosh, and Saurav — as embodying the broader hopes and moral convictions held by young people across India. Addressing those assembled, she argued that no governing body carries the authority to silence an entire generation's voice, and that her support for them was without reservation.
AAP national convenor and former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal described in a post on X what was unfolding as a form of authoritarian governance, questioning whether displaying the national flag constituted an offence.
Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav posted on X that the day represented a contest between what he termed "Ekaranga" and "Tiranga." AAP Delhi chief Saurabh Bharadwaj, participating in an AAP protest march in the capital while holding the national flag, raised objections to the Centre over the security arrangements in the city, questioning the basis on which authorities were preventing citizens from displaying the Tricolour. Bharadwaj told a television news outlet that restrictions on hoisting the national flag within the country's own borders made no sense to him, asking why displaying it remained prohibited. Bharadwaj, addressing the scale of the security deployment, questioned whether the national flag had ever before prompted the mobilisation of thousands of personnel, adding that the Tricolour was being raised directly outside Rashtrapati Bhavan. He questioned the deployment of approximately 50,000 security personnel in response to young people seeking to raise the national flag, and described the matter as complete nonsense. Bharadwaj also drew a comparison to the colonial period, noting that colonial authorities had declared their flag would be raised while Indian representatives maintained that the Tricolour alone would be hoisted over the territory.
JMM legislator Mahua Maji remarked that, given the developments unfolding across the country, a widespread inclination toward demonstrations appeared to have taken hold among the public.
The BJP's hold on government took shape through poll victories recorded in 2014, 2019, and 2024 — three separate mandates that collectively sustained the party's position at the centre of power across that ten-year period.
